Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to medical devices and more specifically to a device for performing endoscopic abrasion.
Background Information
Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition of the esophagus characterized by columnar metaplasia. The annual rate of progression to esophageal cancer in patients with BE is 0.5% end the life time risk is 5-6%. Endoscopic therapy of BE is currently considered the standard of care. Endoscopic therapeutic modalities include endoscopic mucosal resection, radiofrequency ablation, photodynamic therapy, cryotherapy ablation, and argon plasma coagulation. Endoscopic mucosal resection is the treatment of choice for focal dysplastic nodules; however, radical resection is an unacceptable mode of therapy because of the high incidence of complications (such as esophageal stricture formation in 80% of patients). The remainder of the ablative techniques have suboptimal efficacy (failure to clear dysplasia in 20% of cases; failure to clear BE in 30% of cases; stricture formation in 6% of cases; and buried BE and dysplasia).
Abrasion of the esophageal mucosal layer may be an additional effective therapeutic technique for BE as well as other esophageal mucosal diseases, such as intramucosal adenocarcinoma, intramucosal squamous cell carcinoma, and the like. Accordingly, the art would significantly benefit from availability of a device capable of endoscopic abrasion.